Magical meanderings through Monmartre

My favourite day in Paris was spent walking slowly up and down the narrow, hilly, cobbled lanes of Monmartre. We went on a self-guided walking tour on a day of blue skies, puffy white clouds, and streaming sunshine.  Our Lonely Planet guide introduces the neighbourhood of Monmartre thusly:

For centuries Monmartre was a  simple country village filled with the moulins (mills) that supplied Paris with its flour. But when it was incorporated into the capital in 1860, its picturesque charm and low rents attracted painters and writers - especially after the Communard uprising of 1871 which began here. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were Monmartre's heyday when Toulouse-Lautrec drew his favourite cancan dancers and Picasso and Braque introduced the world to Cubism.

We began and ended our tour at the world-famous Moulin Rouge, which opened as a dance hall in 1899 and at one point in its history did boast an elephant on its premises!

 

Our next stop took us off the main road and right into the neighbourhood of Monmartre.  What better way to start a walking tour than by fortifying yourself with ice cream from Café des Deux Moulins?  There were, of course, plenty of nods to the filming of Amélie which took place here.

A cheeky picture pun! Monmartre is famous for flour mills, not pepper mills.  :)

You come upon this little shrine on your way to the toilets.  I had to make a second trip with my camera, which was awkward but worth it.  :)

When we truly made our way into the heart of Monmartre, we started to encounter the residences of famous artistes.  It was truly amazing to stand on the cobbles and look up, imagining them creating such famous works of art in such small spaces.

Our first stop was 54 Rue Lepic, the residence of Théo Van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh stayed with his brother here in the 3rd floor flat (the one with closed shutters with sunflowers affixed to them) for 3 years from 1886-1889.

Matthew hanging out at the residence of Théo Van Gogh.

Our next stops took us by two moulins that are no longer in use.  Both were owned by the Debray family who turned them into open-air dance halls in the 19th century.  One is now a restaurant called Moulin de la Galette in honour of the rye bread (galette) that the Debrays sold to Parisians accompanied by a glass of milk. Renoir painted a bal at this particular open-air dance hall, and the image is below.

Moulin Radet. Flour Mill - turned open-air dance hall - turned restaurant.

Renoir's famous Bal du Moulin de la Galette was painted here when it was an open-air dance hall.

A bit further on, we came upon a curious statue that makes for some fun tourists photos! The statue is of the hero of Marcel Aymé's short story Le Passe-Muraille (The Walker through Walls). In the story Dutilleul becomes trapped in a wall, as depicted by the statue.  Aymé lived in the adjacent building  from 1902-1967.

Matthew tries to rescue the effigy of Dutilleul to no avail.

On rue des Saules we came across Au Lapin Agile, a celebrated cabaret that I first heard about while reading My Life in France by Julia Child. The name is exciting because it is a pun!  André Gill painted a mural on one side of it of a rabbit leaping out of a cooking pot, so the name suggests an agile rabbit, but also sounds like au lapin á Gill (suggesting a rabbit painted by Gill).  Neat!

The cabaret

The mural the cabaret derives its name from.

The main reason I wanted to do this walking tour is because I was charmed by the idea of a pint-sized vineyard in the heart of Paris.  Et voilà!  You turn a corner and Clos Monmartre climbs up a gentle hill.  This vineyard was planted in the 1930's and its 2000 vines produce about 800 bottles of autumnal wine which are auctioned off to charity every year. How quaint!

As we continued on our way, we came upon more buildings either made famous by being the subject of now well-known paintings, or by serving as artists' residences. I think my favourite one was the Maison Rose which stands apart from is neighbours and is quite endearing with its odd angles, slightly dilapidated roof, and odd hue. Utrillo obviously thought it eye-catching because he captured it on canvas which is why tourists now capture it on film.

La Maison Rose - now a restaurant

Utrillo's Maison Rose

 La Musée de Monmartre cetrainly is steeped in history.  The manor house is not only Monmartre's oldest building (built in the 17th century!), but it subsequently was home to the likes of Renoir, Utrillo, and Raoul Duffy.

La Musée de Monmartre

It isn't only artists who made their mark on canvas that flocked to Monmartre in the 19th century. Erik Satie composed music for cabarets, cults, and plays.

From 1890 to 1898 Satie lived at 6 rue Cortot.

Our stroll through history was leading us ever-higher up to the jewel in Paris' crown - La Basilique du Sacré Coeur. Set at the highest point in Paris, you can catch glimpses of its gleaming white spires from all around the city, and if you decide to make the trek up to the basilique itself the views on a clear day are stunning!

The basilica was built from contributions pledged by Parisian Catholiques after the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71). Construction began in 1876 and the church was consecrated in 1919. A perpetual cycle of prayer began at consecration and continues 24/7 to this day.

Getting closer!!

My first glimpse of Sacré Coeur.

I had no idea it was so pale in colour!

In order to get a good picture, I recommend standing on something to eliminate most of the heaving crowds from the shot.

The entrance of the basilique.

Lounging on the steps after our visit and taking in the view.  More adventurous folk with nerves of steel can pay a small fee to take in the view from one of the domes.  I decided to keep my feet as closely planted to terra firma as I could!! 

Monmartre is hilly.  This shot puts that into perspective.

Also, Monmartre is full of steep flights of steps, which we mostly managed to avoid!

True to its heritage, the streets of Monmartre are still lined with artists who will gladly do a sketch of you, or sell you some of the neighbourhood.  An artist asked to sketch me outside of Sacré Coeur and I kind of wish I had let him. Maybe next time!!  Place du Tertre is a great place to eat at a bistro or crêperie and watch the artists at work.

After all that walking, we needed to find sustenance! We briefly debated dining here, just for the name of the restaurant!!

On our hunt to find some dinner we passed the Bateau Lavoir (The Laundry Boat), a piano factory-turned-laundry.  Here, Kees Van Dongan, Max Jacob, Amedeo Modligliani, and Pablo Picasso, once lived in poverty.

Another charming restaurant we passed on our walk. I liked how the setting sun made it gleam.

We finally settled on Café Marie, which we happened upon down a long flight of stairs.  It had a sort of old country feel to it even though it was in the middle of the city, and we were some of the first patrons so it was quiet and our waitress was very attentive.  I finally got to have 'real' French onion soup, one of Julia Child's favourites -boeuf bourguignon, and a tarte au citron that was so lemony that I gladly savoured it for over a quarter of an hour! The perfect end to a perfect day.

Inside Café Marie.

The view of tourists streaming down from the basilica.

Bonne nuit!